Salons - Collections of Memory and Loss
Neun Kunstinstallationen, die identitätsstiftende Objekte in den Salons palästinensischer Wohnungen untersuchen. 28. Mai – 31. Aug. 2022, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah.
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Successive Crises
Video installation
This project suggests that we rethink the idea of wedding portraits that typically aim to perpetuate a joyous moment, as if having this moment captured in a photo hung on the salon wall will portend an enduring, perfect relationship for the house owners. The photo is displayed in an expensive frame and hung on a prominent wall in the house to be admired by guests, and to remind the house owners of the goal they should aspire to in their daily lives.
These portraits undergo changes with shifting circumstances, particularly those that lead to aggravated human relations. The portrait on the wall remains as a witness to the relationship and to the challenges faced. It also serves to emphasize the transformations that have been experienced. After some time, the sacred photograph is removed from the wall, moved to another less important place, or put away in an unused drawer.
The work repurposes scenes taken from the Egyptian film A Dinner Date (1981), directed by Mohammed Khan, and with actors Suad Hosni and Hussein Fahmi. It reproduces the portrait that appears at the beginning and end of the film, focusing on the opening scenes of the filming of a wedding portrait, and the ending with showing all the repeated attempts of removing the portrait and rehanging it during the film before its tragic ending.
Essa Grayeb is a visual artist born in Galilee. His practice traverses a range of media: primarily photography, moving images and installation.
Some of Grayeb’s works are made from objects, footage and sounds already extant, which he appropriates and manipulates. Often related to Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism, his work originates from examining elements related to historical moments within collective memory and forgetfulness, articulating the ways events and stories are told in popular culture while constantly weaving in and out of reality and fiction.
Grayeb holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography and is currently finishing his MFA studies. His work has been exhibited internationally and in Palestine (A.M. Qattan Foundation, Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art and Qalandiya International IV). His films were screened at numerous film festivals, including the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, the Toronto Arab Film Festival, the Indie Memphis Film Festival and the Arab Film Fest Collab. Essa lives and creates in Jerusalem.
© Photo, text: Artist & A. M. Qattan Foundation
Neun Kunstinstallationen, die identitätsstiftende Objekte in den Salons palästinensischer Wohnungen untersuchen. 28. Mai – 31. Aug. 2022, A.M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah.